Summary: In Christian faiths, to become a full-fledged member of the religion one must be baptized. To become a Muslim, however, a person simply needs to make the profession of faith. In English the profession of faith is ldquo;There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger.rdquo; And while this can be made privately, Muslims believe itrsquo;s best if the profession of faith is done before witnesses. When uttering what is called the ldquo;Shahadardquo; a person is stating that, indeed, he believes Allah is the only god, that Allah never had a son and that Allah is indivisible. The second part of the statement, that Muhammad is Allahrsquo;s messenger, means that a person is willing to follow the teachings of the Prophet. A Muslim is willing to avoid those things Muhammad said were forbidden and to worship Allah as Muhammad has said to because the manner of worship was, in fact, revealed to the Prophet by Allah. Someone who becomes a Muslim is also agreeing to accept the six articles of faith in Islam as well as the Five Pillars of the faith.
